Christian Ehrhoff scored 38 seconds into overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at First Niagara Center on Friday.

Ehrhoff’s goal came just as a penalty to Toronto’s Paul Ranger ended, and the shot from the point beat Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer through the five-hole. It was Ehrhoff’s second goal of the season.

“It was definitely nice,” Ehrhoff said. “It wasn’t a big blast, it just found a little lane there and put it through [Carl] Gunnarsson’s legs and Reimer didn’t see it.”

Ehrhoff was helped out by a screen in front by newest Sabres forward Matt D’Agostini. The Sabres claimed D’Agostini off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

“[Ranger] was coming out of the box behind [Ehrhoff] there,” D’Agostini said. “So I just figured he’d try to get it on net. He did a good job just getting it through.”

The win ended the Sabres’ five-game losing streak.

“It’s one of those things where we’re trying, we’re trying,” Sabres forward Drew Stafford said. “We’re competing. The effort’s there. We just haven’t been able to have a full 60-minute effort. I thought tonight we had a pretty solid night and also scored some goals. You’re not going to win a lot of games 1-0.”

The Sabres ended a streak of four straight games in which they scored one goal per game.

Ranger took a holding penalty with 1:32 left in the third period, giving the Sabres a power play at the end of regulation, but it was Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk who had the best chance during it. With 20.4 seconds remaining, van Riemsdyk broke in on Sabres goalie Ryan Miller only to be taken out of the play by D’Agostini.

“Usually when you’re in all alone and you get your legs taken out from under you, you expect something, especially when the calls have been what they were,” van Riemsdyk said. “We can’t use officiating as an excuse. We’ve got to find ways to be better.”

Miller said, “Great effort by D’Agostini. He got back hard and forced the ref to make a decision. The ref decided he got the puck, and we haven’t changed that rule where if you get a hold of that puck first they’re probably not going to get a tripping penalty. Great effort getting back and it helps us get to overtime. I thought it was a nice job.”

The Sabres were 1-for-4 on the power play; the Maple Leafs went 0-for-1.

Season series: The first of three games. The New Jersey Devils won two of the three last season, which all required a shootout.

Big story: Each team is coming off a victory Friday. The Buffalo Sabres snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Devils ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Christian Ehrhoff scored 38 seconds into overtime for the Sabres at First Niagara Center. The Devils scored four times in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit at PNC Arena, giving goalie Cory Schneider (16 saves) his second straight victory in his first start since Nov. 21.

“I liked our game right from the drop of the puck,” Devils coach Peter DeBoer said. ”I thought we had good energy, good legs. We created a lot of things. … We found our game again in the third.”

Team Scope:

Sabres: Forward Matt D’Agostini, claimed off waivers by the Sabres from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, made his debut for the team Friday. The 27-year-old scored 21 goals for the St. Louis Blues in 2010-11 but has 12 goals in 93 games since. D’Agostini, who played on the second line with center Ville Leino and Sabres captain Steve Ott, had three shots on goal and a plus-1 rating in 15:39 of ice time.

“To get a guy like him, it’s fortunate for us and we’ll see if we can get his career back going,” Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. “When you get a goal-scorer, you’ve got to put him in position to score some goals. Hopefully that will help.”

The Sabres average an NHL-low 1.67 goals per game and are second to last with 25.5 shots per game. The Devils average the fewest shots (25.0).

Devils: Defenseman Anton Volchenkov returned to the lineup Friday after missing seven games with a leg muscle pull and finished with five blocked shots, five hits and a plus-2 rating in 19:11 of ice time.

Jaromir Jagr‘s third-period goal tied Steve Yzerman with 692 career goals for eighth place in NHL history. Jagr is two goals behind Mark Messier (694) for seventh place. Jagr, who had a goal and two assists, leads the Devils in goals (11), assists (11), points (22) and game-winners (three).

Who’s hot:Matt Moulson has four goals and 11 points in 14 games since joining the Sabres via a trade from the New York Islanders on Oct. 27. … Devils defenseman Andy Greene has points in four straight games (one goal, four assists) and two goals and nine points in the past 11 games.

The Detroit Red Wings were coming off a loss at home the night before when they rolled into Buffalo on Sunday. The Sabres hadn’t played since Thursday and had the chance to take advantage of a tired hockey club. They got off to the start they wanted, but were unable to capitalize on a golden opportunity.

Cody Hodgson scored 7:47 into the first period, but the Red Wings came back to score the next three as Detroit defeated Buffalo 3-1 at First Niagara Center.

“Did we have an opportunity? Yes, we did. That’s three games in a row now where I thought we had a pretty good start,” Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan said. “Then we just don’t seem to be consistent with our play. Shift after shift, we have lapses and we do things that are characteristics of losing.”

Hodgson scored after accepting a pass from Drew Stafford. Hodgson took the puck from the side of the net, waited for a sprawling Gustavsson to go down and then tucked it in past him.

Hodgson is now tied for the team lead in goals with eight.

For the third game in a row, the Sabres opened the scoring, but they haven’t been able to earn points in any of those three games. They also skated into the dressing room with a lead after one period for the second time this season – and the second straight game.

“You have to make it count in this League. You can’t just be satisfied with a little glimmer of what we feel is the right way to play,” Miller said. We have to not teams let back into games. We’ve taken a lot of penalties in those games, too. It’s going to be a common theme and we’ve got to just be smarter. ”

After the game, Nolan praised Miller’s play and talked about how the team needs to be able to play a full 60-minute game.

“The only consistency we’ve had some far, I think, is our goaltending. He gives us a chance all the time. We kind of shoot ourselves in the foot,” Nolan said.

“They get momentum, we look like we’re tired. I think it’s a state of mind. We just gotta change a little bit of things moving forward. I know it’s frustrating. In order to get, you can’t blame and point fingers all the time. We have to collectively work on this thing together.”

http://sabres.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020353

Tonight’s Preview:

Sabres aim to deny Canadiens a fourth straight win

Big story: The Sabres have trouble scoring; the Canadiens don’t give up many goals. Buffalo has scored an NHL-low 44 goals and is the only team averaging fewer than two goals a game (1.6). Montreal allows the second-fewest goals in the league at 2.1 per game.

Team Scope:

Canadiens: Montreal comes in winners of three in a row, all over current playoff teams, beating the Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. Max Pacioretty had two goals in the 3-2 win against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

“There’s obviously going to be times where things don’t go our way. … We’ve played some good teams and had some success last week, and now we have to build on that moving forward,” defenseman Josh Gorges said after practice Monday.

During the winning streak, Montreal has scored three power-play goals. The Canadiens rank in the top five in power-play percentage, and much of that has to do with puck-moving defenseman Andrei Markov running the point.

“Everybody sees the big shot from P.K. [Subban] but [Andrei Markov] controlling things back there, when he wasn’t healthy obviously it was a big hit to our power play,” captain Brian Gionta said Monday. “When he’s back, it makes it look so easy. He’s the real key to it. Everything goes through him. The way he sees the ice is unbelievable.”

Sabres: Don’t blame the losing streak on Ryan Miller, who started and kept Buffalo in three of the four losses. Miller allowed nine goals but has stopped 100 of 109 shots, a .927 save percentage. Miller has faced 30 or more shots 16 times in his 18 starts.

“There’s glimpses of playing well, then we collapse. We just got to learn to do it on a consistent basis and having faith in one another. Right now, I don’t think we have too much faith in one another and we have to work on that. When things aren’t going well, that’s usually what happens,” interim coach Ted Nolan told the Sabres website Monday.

Who’s hot: The Sabres have scored five goals in four games, but Tyler Ennis has figured in on three of those with two goals and an assist. … Pacioretty has five goals and is plus-5 in his past three games. Goalie Carey Price hasn’t allowed more than two goals in his past five starts.

April 6 at Flyers 7:30 PMLast Game Recap:Morrow, Stewart Lead Blues Past Sabres

Chris Stewart saved his energy, and Brenden Morrow was the beneficiary.
After missing the St. Louis Blues’ morning skate Tuesday with flu-like symptoms, Stewart was told to stay at the team hotel to rest.
Stewart must have had a good rest; he assisted on both Morrow goals to help the Blues defeat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 at First Niagara Center.
Without going into detail, it was a rough Monday night for Stewart, but he’d probably admit it was worth it, with the end result being that he played a key role in helping the Blues recover from a 4-1 loss Sunday against the Washington Capitals.
“I’ve probably been struggling for the last 24 hours,” Stewart said after getting his fifth and sixth assists of the season. “I haven’t felt like that in a while. … It hit me hard, probably as soon as we got in here. It started going through the team a little bit and that time of the year. We’ve got a little time here before the Boston game [Thursday], get some rest, get hydrated and get back after it.”Tyler Ennis scored and Ryan Miller stopped 27 shots for the Sabres, who fell to 1-2-0 under interim coach Ted Nolan.
“I think our youth really showed tonight,” Nolan said. “This is one of the better teams in the National Hockey League that can really expose your flaws. … We knew it was going to be tough. We’ve just got to keep teaching, keep learning. You could tell some of the difference between some of the young players we have and some of the mature players they have. It’s just part of maturing.”
Ennis opened the scoring before the 17,710 spectators could get settled in, as he was able to one-time a centering feed from Ville Leino past Halak 10 seconds into the game. Leino got to a bouncing puck after Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester couldn’t handle it. It was the Sabres’ fourth goal in the first period in 23 games.
“We learned to have a start. Sometimes we’ve been starting slow,” Ennis said. “This time, we started fast and scored. Then we kind of let off the gas. Those are the things we need to fix.”http://sabres.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020312Tonight’s Preview:Sabres visit Philadelphia to face surging FlyersBig story: The Flyers continued their strong play with a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday that moved them out of seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and put them two points behind the third-place New York Rangers for the final automatic spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Sabres still are trying to adjust to how interim coach Ted Nolan wants them to play, especially defensively. Practice has involved lots of work on positioning and communicating.
“If one hand knows what the other hand is doing it’s much easier,” Nolan said. “We have to communicate, we have to talk, we have to stop and start in our defensive zone. Some things change but some things stay the same. Strong defensive hockey wins lots of games.”Team Scope: Sabres: After sending out three young players Tuesday, the Sabres will give two others a chance Thursday against the Flyers.
Nolan told reporters in Buffalo that Luke Adam and Brayden McNabb, recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League, would be in the lineup Thursday. Adam played left wing on a line with center Zemgus Girgensons and right wing Steve Ott, while McNabb split time with a few different defensemen.
Adam is tied for the AHL lead with 13 goals in 15 games, while McNabb has 12 points and a plus-5 rating in 15 games. Nolan said strong play is why they’re skating with the Sabres now.
“He [Adam] is having a great year in the American league,” Nolan said. “When kids do that they have to be rewarded. That’s what the American Hockey League is about. He’s being rewarded for his play. McNabb the same way; he’s playing real well in a different way. We want to reward guys down there and keep guys up here on their toes because there’s always somebody coming in the back door. You never know where they’re going to come from.”Flyers: With back-to-back 90-point seasons, Sean Couturier was considered one of the most offensively gifted players in the 2011 NHL Draft class when the Flyers chose him with the eighth pick.
However, that offense hasn’t been seen as much a quarter of the way through his third NHL season. After scoring 13 goals as a rookie, he had four in 46 games last season, and snapped a 25-game goal drought when he scored in the second period of the Flyers’ 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
“I feel 20 pounds lighter just getting that in,” Couturier said Wednesday. “Sometimes you think too much when things aren’t going your way. In the first period [when he missed an open net], maybe you think too much about that chance I had.”
Couturier has contributed in other ways — he’s the Flyers’ best defensive forward and his plus-2 rating is the best among the team’s forwards who have been in Philadelphia all season. Now the hope is this sudden burst of offense can bring him some added confidence.
“It’s huge for [Couturier] to get a goal,” coach Craig Berube said. “He goes out and does a great job checking for us and playing a good role against teams’ top lines and penalty kill, faceoffs and little things.
“To get rewarded with a goal here and there, and he’s had opportunities to score a goal and it hasn’t gone in, I think he’ll start putting it in a little bit now. Sometimes you get that first goal and feel better and more confident.”Who’s hot: Flyers captain Claude Giroux has two goals, three assists and a plus-5 rating in the past five games; in his first 15, he had had seven points, all assists, and a minus-11 rating.http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2013020328&navid=sb:previewInjury Report:

The Buffalo Sabres found themselves behind the eight-ball early against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

They managed to put together a strong final 40 minutes but it wasn’t enough as Toronto won the second game of the home-and-home series between the two clubs 4-2.

Toronto was ahead 2-0 and the first period and held a three-goal lead after two. They also possessed a big advantage in shot attempts in the early stages of the game. However, the Sabres were able to rally back and make it a one-goal game in the third.

“There are a couple things I’m looking at and evaluating and that’s one of the things,” Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan said. “I want to see how in a situation like that going into the third period, you’re down 3-0 and things don’t seem to be bouncing your way. There’s two ways you can go: Not compete and forget it or believe. But I was very impressed with the way they competed.”

For the Maple Leafs, James van Riemsdyk scored twice and Nikolai Kulemin added a third. Mason Raymond made it 4-2 on the power play with 1:04 to play in the third period. James Reimer stopped 33 shots.

Nolan took over behind the bench on Wednesday and players can already see how his influence and insistency on hard work is shaping their play on the ice.

“I think there’s noticeable compete change in the last couple days. You can see it. Everyone can see it. It’s nice to see obviously,” Ennis said. “It was a loss and a tough first period, but the compete has been a lot better and the tempo’s been a lot better. We just have to play 60 minutes.”

Toronto scored twice with the man advantage and it was Raymond’s goal late in the third period that killed a rally by the Sabres. Ville Leino was sent to the box for tripping Joffrey Lupul with 2:46 remaining in regulation. Raymond scored to make it a two-goal game 1:42 later.

“We can’t take that. We had full momentum and I think he got a little bit frustrated and then just took the guy’s feet out from underneath him,” Nolan said. “Those are a couple things we’ll have to adjust.”

http://sabres.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020263

Tonight’s Preview:

Sabres go for third straight at home as Blues visit

Big story: While the Blues’ goal is to compete for a Stanley Cup this season, the Sabres are trying to build a perennial contender. It’s a process that figures to take time, but there’s renewed vigor in Buffalo with the returns of Pat LaFontaine and Ted Nolan to the organization. Nolan’s first weekend back as coach resulted in the split of a home-and-home with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Blues: One of the NHL’s most lethal offenses despite a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday, St. Louis already has nine players with at least 10 points and Vladimir Sobotka will join them with his next goal or assist.

Believe it or not, though, the Blues still have potent weapons they’re trying to get going. Patrik Berglund, who sat out against the Capitals with an upper-body injury, has scored at least 17 goals in four of the past five seasons but has just one in 2013-14, scored way back on Oct. 5.

“I think a lot of people go through this in their career,” Berglund told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s kind of my first time that I shoot and shoot but it won’t go in. For me, as long as I feel like I’m helping the team out there, I know it will come. It’s just not about scoring. I’m killing penalties. I’m playing against some very good lines. I’ll get my chances and one will go in.”

Sabres: Even though Buffalo couldn’t build on a 3-1 win against the Maple Leafs in Nolan’s debut Friday, dropping the matchup Saturday by a 4-2 score, the coach said in many ways their effort was more commendable in defeat, as Jamie McBain and Tyler Ennis cut into a 3-0 deficit in the third period.

Nolan has spent his first several days back with the team trying to pump up the young Sabres and pump life back into a franchise that has fallen on hard times since qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2011.

“Ted came in and basically had one-on-ones with every guy in the room,” defenseman Tyler Myers told The Buffalo News. “One of the things he brought up was don’t be afraid to jump up as much as you can. There’s mistakes that are going to be made, and that’s part of hockey. Don’t worry about it. It was a good feeling to hear that.”

Who’s hot: Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester has one goal and four assists during a four-game point streak. … Sabres goalie Ryan Miller has only won four of his 15 decisions, but he has a .919 save percentage and it’s at .928 over his past five starts, including three 40-plus save performances.

For the first time this season, the Buffalo Sabres skated off home ice with a victory in hand.

Ryan Miller stole the show with 43 saves as the Sabres defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in the shootout on Tuesday at First Niagara Center. In the shootout, Miller was perfect and Matt Moulson and Tyler Ennis both scored.

Miller now owns sole possession of the NHL record for most career shootout victories with 46.

The Sabres were coming off a 6-2 road loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. In that game, Miller was pulled after the second period and Hodgson, Moulson and Ennis were benched for the final 26:11.

All four had a hand in the Sabres victory against the Kings. Miller’s effort Tuesday night was not lost on Sabres coach Ron Rolston.

“He gave us an opportunity to be in that game so it was a great bounce back game from him,” Rolston said.

The Sabres penalty kill was strong, especially late in the game. While holding a 2-1 lead midway through the third period, Buffalo weathered a Kings power play in which Miller made five saves and saw another ring off the post. The Sabres also killed off two penalties in overtime.

“We stepped up to the plate and did what we needed to do,” Sabres defenseman Mark Pysyk said. “We don’t want to be taking that many penalties, but that’s the way it went. We did a good job.”

The Sabres had given up a pair of power play goals in each of their past two games, but killed off all five of the Kings’ chances on Tuesday.

“We had some huge blocks in those situations, too, guys sacrificing,” Rolston said. “A lot of guys like Steve Ott had a lot of minutes in that situation, especially with him taking a lot of the face offs. Brian Flynn had some big blocks in those situations so that was huge for us and obviously [Miller] being able to do what he did tonight.”

http://sabres.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020263

Tonight’s Preview:

Sabres, under Nolan, start home-and-home vs. Leafs

Big story:Interim coach Ted Nolan makes his return to the Buffalo bench after compiling a 73-72-19 record from 1995-97. Nolan was hired Wednesday, along with Pat LaFontaine as director of hockey operations, when Sabres owner Terry Pegula fired general manager Darcy Regier and coach Ron Rolston. The new leadership takes over the last-place team in the NHL, although the Sabres did manage their first home win of the season Tuesday, a 3-2 shootout decision against the Los Angeles Kings.

“We know that there will be a different face behind the bench and there’ll be motivation for players from the Buffalo side to make a first impression,” Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle told the team website Thursday. “… It is a shock to the organization and the people involved, at the ice level specifically.”

Team Scope:

Maple Leafs: Toronto will play without center Nazem Kadri, who was suspended three games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Thursday for a goalie interference penalty against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. Centers Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland are on injured reserve.

“There’s always the option of bringing a guy up from the American Hockey League,” Carlyle said prior to learning Kadri was suspended. “We’ve explored different avenues, multiple. So it’s not like you have to have Plan A, B, C, D and E in the drawer here.

“That’s what the life of a hockey coach and management team is, and when you go through situations like this you try to make the best decision that’s going to give you the best possible chance to have success with the people that you have here.”

The Maple Leafs had won four of five games before dropping two straight on this three-game road trip.

“You can’t sugarcoat it, [the missing centers] are obviously a big part of our team and a big part of our success,” center Jay McClement said. “But I think we have enough depth … that we can hold the fort here and continue to plug away and hopefully win some games until we get some guys back.”

Sabres: According to Chris Ryndak of buffalosabres.com, Nolan had his assistant coaches run practice Wednesday but Thursday he demanded a fast-paced, physical session with some players practicing at different positions, including rookie Zemgus Girgensons at center for the first time, with Steve Ott and Tyler Ennis flanking him.

Though the practice reportedly was intense, Girgensons said he was satisfied with the new coaching style.

“[Nolan] wants simple hockey but you have to play hard. He wants all the guys going 100 percent,” Girgensons told the website. “If you’re not going to do that, most likely you’re not even going to be out there. He wants the guys to compete, and I think that’s what we need in this team right now.”

Forward John Scott is eligible to return to the lineup after completing his seven-game suspension for a hit on Boston Bruins forward Loui Eriksson on Oct. 23.

Who’s hot: It hadn’t been confirmed Thursday who would start in goal for Toronto. Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have combined for a 1.54 goals-against average over the past seven games. … Sabres forward Matt Moulson has two goals and six assists in seven games since coming from the New York Islanders in a late-October trade.

A wave of euphoria has swept over Sabres fans this morning as it was announced the Sabres fired Darcy Regier and Ron Rolston last night. Pat LaFontaine has been hired as President of Hockey Operations with Ted Nolan serving as interim coach for the rest of the season.

LaFontaine has a short list of GM candidates, until a new GM is hired he will work day to day with Kevin Devine. Nolan’s main task, according to LaFontaine, is to change the culture of the team. LaFontaine wants the new GM to have freedom to hire a head coach. Pegula said he asked LaFontaine if he could be a GM but LaFontaine said he couldn’t and outlined a role which he was eventually hired for. A very emotional Ted Nolan said all the assistant coaches will remain and stated how happy he is to be back in Buffalo.